What is hypnosis?

You will obey! Won't you?

What do you think of when you hear the word hypnosis? What comes to mind, some spooky guy with weird eyes and a pocket watch? The evil doctor compelling his subjects to obey his will:

There is little truth in the Hollywood portrayal of hypnosis. There could be no enslavement no zombie state where self-will is given away. The truth is the total opposite for most people hypnosis is a state of heightened awareness. Whilst hypnosis is still portrayed in the media as something bordering on the paranormal it will always bring out the sceptics. Yet, our understanding of and the advancements in hypnosis over the past century are leading to a much greater acceptance by the medical profession and G.P. referrals are becoming more common. Television shows and newspapers are beginning to report on the benefits and remarkable results that can be achieved through hypnotherapy.

What is Hypnosis?

This is a subject that has been debated for hundreds of years. Science has yet to come up with a complete explanation. Yet we know hypnosis works, we have witnessed what people can do, we just don't have a complete explanation as to the 'how's and whys.' One-day scientists will complete the jigsaw of the mind, but it won't be soon meanwhile the mystery of hypnosis will slowly unravel.

Whats been established so far are the general characteristics of hypnosis and research has provided a theory as to how it does work.

It is a trance like state in which a person reaches a level of deep, deep relaxation, of heightened awareness and imagination that opens them up to extreme suggestibility. Unlike sleep the person is completely aware and alert throughout, the body switches off but the mind is very alert.

Think of the last television programme that had you spellbound, were you aware of what your body was doing? Did anyone come and go through the room? Did you talk to anyone? Same thing if you are engrossed in a book or video game. Your attention is so focused on what your mind is involved with that almost everything else is shut out.

Often we daydream, we might dwell on a programme we have watched and for a short time we live in the imaginary world of our making. Lost in thought this world can seem real. We let our emotions stretch out to experience the feelings of the characters we envisage and these emotions can be very real. Fear, sadness, and joy; A sudden noise or surprise can literally shock us out of our 'trance' and we feel a sensation of coming back to reality.

Experts argue that this is a form of self-hypnosis yet others state that to go into hypnosis a person has to consciously be aware of partaking in focused relaxation.

Hypnotherapists guide people to a state of deep relaxation where suggestions given will be accepted as if they were reality. The hypnotherapist may suggest that a hand is as heavy as lead. Try and lift it and it's too heavy to move. They may suggest eating an ice cream. The sensation of cold in the mouth the texture and taste of the ice cream, even the smell will seem real.

This happens because the person has made a concious decision to be guided by the hypnotherapist to attain a pre-arranged goal. It is something that person wants for themselves and will accept without question the suggestions to attain what they want to achieve.

The state of relaxation reached is so great that the worries of everyday life are switched off. Stress, worry fade out and you may find yourself as you would engrossed in your favourite film or book Totally focused on what is happening on screen. It is at this stage that your mind is most susceptible to suggestion and you will whole-heartedly take up the suggestions that the hypnotherapist will put to you. But you will only take up the suggestions that you want for yourself.

Ever been so engrossed in a conversation or television programme and later found you had consented to something without realising it? Kids recognise this scenario and have parent manipulation down to a fine art! Ever driven past a turnoff you wanted to take because your mind was elsewhere? So who was driving the car? Yet in both of these events if something happened that was different or went against your sense of normality or morality you would instantly react to the situation. That is what happens in hypnosis, any suggestion that you found unacceptable you would instantly be aware and reject that suggestion. Accepting no suggestion that would jeopardize your safety or entrenched morality.

What is it that can cause this though? How does it happen?

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